Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,globally acclaimed Nigerian author has revealed that she quietly welcomed twin boys in 2024.
Adding to her family, which includes her nine-year-old daughter.
Known for her fiercely guarded privacy, she shared this intimate detail in a recent interview with The Guardian’s Charlotte Edwardes.
Adichie fiercely protecting her privacy
She explained that her decision stems from a deep desire to protect her children, stating, “I want to protect my children.
I’m okay with having them mentioned, but I don’t want the piece to become about them.”
She admitted that Nigerians have an insatiable curiosity about personal affairs, which has only reinforced her resolve to keep family matters discreet.
Motherhood in her late forties
At 47, Adichie balances the complexities of motherhood with her literary career.
The novel explores the intertwined lives of four women.
Delving into themes of immigration, African and African American relationships, and societal expectations surrounding marriage and motherhood.
She spoke candidly about the creative struggles she faced after becoming a mother.
The journey back to writing
“I didn’t want to leave such a long gap between novels. When I got pregnant [with my daughter], something just happened.
I had a number of years in which I was almost existentially frightened that I wouldn’t write again. It was unbearable.”
The breakthrough came while writing Notes on Grief, her deeply personal memoir about losing her father in 2020.
As she navigated the pain of loss, she felt something shift-her ability to write fiction slowly returned.
“There was a willingness to let go, to surrender control; a feeling similar to the way I’d felt writing fiction,” she recalled.
Her upcoming novel, Dream Count, set for release on March 3, 2025, unexpectedly became a tribute to her late mother, who passed away in 2021.
“Only when I was almost done did I realize—my God, it’s about my mother,” she admitted.
“She wouldn’t want a sad book dedicated to her, and I’m happy it’s not.”
With her return to fiction and the quiet joy of expanding her family, Adichie continues to shape her legacy—both on the page and in her personal life.
